Laurie Lewis hosts our exuberant family holiday celebration, setting alight the longest night of the year with great music. Some of the Bay Area's hottest performers are on stage tonight, donating their services in support of the Freight: Suzy Thompson, Keith Little & the Little Band, Claudia Russell & Bruce Kaplan, and Tom Rozum playing with host Laurie Lewis.

Berkeley’s Suzy Thompson is one of the rare musicians today who has mastered the acoustic blues violin, following in the footsteps of Lonnie Chatmon, Clifford Hayes, and Eddie Anthony. She’s a powerful singer, an award-winning fiddler, and an accomplished accordion player who, over the past three decades, has been a leading force in roots music groups like the California Cajun Orchestra, the Blue Flame String Band, Klezmorim, the Any Old Time String Band, the Aux Cajunals, and the Bluegrass Intentions, as well as in her down-home collaborations with Eric Thompson.

Keith Little is a Grammy nominated bluegrass musician and composer who plays guitar, banjo, mandolin, fiddle, and sings. He's worked with Dolly Parton, the Chieftains, the Country Gentlemen, Ricky Skaggs & Kentucky Thunder, the David Grisman, Peter Rowan, just to name a few. Tonight he's joined by his own LittleBand, featuring Michael Witcher on Dobro and vocals, Josh Tharp on banjo and vocals, Luke Abbott on fiddle and vocals, and Steve Swan on bass and vocals.

Berkeley’s own Laurie Lewis—Grammy winner, bluegrass trailblazer, singer and fiddler extraordinaire—has recorded more than 20 albums with the Good Ol' Persons, Grant Street, Kathy Kallick, and her current band, Laurie Lewis & the Right Hands. She plays fiddle, guitar, and banjo, sings, and writes great bluegrass songs. The International Bluegrass Association named her Female Vocalist of the Year, twice. In addition to her own musical endeavors, she also works with talented new artists, helping them find their way in the recording business.

Multi-instrumentalist Tom Rozum, a native New Englander, first joined forces with Laurie in 1986 as an original member of Grant Street, and may well be the rightest of all the Right Hands. He and Laurie collaborated on a beautiful, Grammy-nominated album of duets, The Oak and the Laurel, and he also has released a wonderful solo album, Jubilee, recorded with an all-star cast of musicians including Laurie, Mike Marshall, Herb Pederson, and Darol Anger.